This simple and delicious linguine with tomatoes and burrata is so good. Linguine adorned with a simple sauce made with olive oil, fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced garlic, fresh arugula, and capers. Top it off with some creamy burrata and a sprinkling of toasted homemade breadcrumbs to finish. So simple and so good.
Pasta is pretty much one of my favorite things to eat, I absolutely love it! Admittedly, I can be a bit of a ‘pasta snob’. There are a few tips to make sure that you have a great pasta dish.
Tips for making perfect pasta
- Make sure that you cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water.
- Make sure you salt the pasta water well before you add in your pasta, don’t be shy with the salt on this step.
- Do not add oil to your water, you want the pasta to have a little starch on the exterior for the sauce to stick to.
- Do not rinse your pasta with water.
- DO NOT break your pasta, leave the long strands intact to make for a perfect swirly bite.
- Please, do not overcook your pasta. It is best to leave the pasta a little underdone then fish it out of your cooking water and toss directly in the pan with the sauce to finish cooking until al dente.
- Save your cooking water! I use the cooking water often to loosen up a sauce to finish cooking the pasta in, it is a glorious trick.
- Buy a good Italian variety of pasta. For the typical grocery store variety I would recommend De Cecco brand, Barilla is pretty good too.
These little tricks make a huge difference in your finished dish. Trust me! If you follow them while making this linguine with tomatoes and burrata, you will not be disappointed.
Burrata Cheese
I’ve topped the pasta with a bit of burrata that I had in the fridge. If you haven’t tried burrata cheese before, it’s worth trying to find. It’s a fresh cows milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer part has a soft mozzarella like texture, and when you break into it, a beautifully soft and creamy interior that adds such a nice creamy texture to a dish.
Breadcrumbs
Rather than add more cheese I’ve toasted some breadcrumbs to make a nice crunchy topping to add a nice flavor and texture to the dish. Breadcrumbs are a traditional topping in many Italian pasta dishes. They were used in place of cheese when cheese was not available or when people could not afford cheese. Here I’ve used it with cheese but it is a great topping to use on its own too.
Fresh Ingredients
I wouldn’t make this dish if you can’t find really nice ripe tomatoes. It’s best to use the best tomatoes you can find for simple dishes like this.
OK, I feel like I’m lecturing. I told you I was a pasta snob.
If you like this recipe try this: Caprese Style Grilled Cheese
Linguine with Tomatoes, Capers and Burrata
Ingredients
- 454 grams linguine de cecco or barilla brands are good
- 3 1/2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
- 8 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 3 tbsp capers salt packed ones are best, rinse them well if you use that variety
- 6-8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large handful baby arugula
- 1 ball burrata
- 1 cup (approx) pasta cooking water (reserved)
- 1/2-1 cup toasted breadcrumbs from day old italian loaf or sourdough loaf
- salt for cooking water and to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1/2-1 tsp hot pepper flakes
Instructions
Breadcumbs
- Using a food processor, roughly process about 3 pieces of day old italian bread or sourdough until roughly chopped. In a large pan, with a healthy dose of olive oil over medium heat toast your bread until browned and crispy. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste. Set aside once done.
Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously. Add your pasta in, and stir gently until submerged.
- While your pasta is cooking. Heat a large pan over medium heat with a generous coating of olive oil. Add in your garlic and hot pepper flakes and cook for a minute or so until fragrant. Add in your chopped tomatoes and let cook for a little bit until the juices start to render. Add in your capers.
- A few minutes before your pasta is done, remove from the water and toss with the pasta sauce. Add in a little cooking water to loosen the sauce. Toss with a little arugula at the last minute. Season with salt and pepper if need be.
- Serve immediately topped with the burrata and some of the toasted breadcrumbs. Serve with extra breadcrumbs on the side for sprinkling.
